Business Publication Of The Year

INCHCAPE UK has undertaken a review of the way its sales teams are structured, to build ‘a sales force equipped for the future’.

The company has split its teams into ‘new’ and ‘used’, so each business manager and sales executive will have a specialism and be able to deliver a personal customer experience tailored to the individual needs of each customer.

Business managers will become responsible for leading their sales teams to success.

To create an attractive offering for their sales teams, Inchcape, one of the UK’s leading retailers for new and used cars, has reviewed the base pay and commission elements of its reward package, significantly changing the mix of these two elements.

The company has moved the basic pay of a sales executive up to £22,000 per annum and the overall package now has no upper earnings limit.

James Brearley, CEO of Inchcape UK, pictured, said: ‘Delivering an exceptional customer experience has always been and will always be at the heart of this business.

‘In changing our sales structure we want to build a team of expert advisors, who are able to deliver a tailored customer experience every time.

‘It moves us away from the behaviour of just selling to acting as a personal advisor.

‘Buying a car now is very different to buying a car 10 years ago and as a progressive business we need to build for the future.

‘We are saying goodbye to the days of high-pressure sales operations that relied on lower basic salaries and high commissions and drove unrealistic sales volumes – our plan will create an environment that puts the customer first every time.

‘By making these structural changes to our sales team, we will not only ensure that our customers receive a tailored experience every time, we are giving our employees a clear career path and a specialism in new or used cars.

‘Our sales teams play a crucial role, representing the front line of our business and we want to attract and retain the best people and become the employer of choice for these vital roles in our industry.’